Auburn beats Alabama on miraculous final play

AUBURN — Arguably the biggest college football game in the history of the state of Alabama ended in the most improbable fashion imaginable.

By J.J. HicksTimes Sports Writer

AUBURN — Arguably the biggest college football game in the history of the state of Alabama ended in the most improbable fashion imaginable.With the game tied at 28 with 1 second left in the fourth quarter, a 57-yard field goal attempt by Alabama’s Adam Griffith came up just short. Auburn’s Chris Davis fielded it at the back of his end zone, brought it out, weaved and dodged his way through a field full of players and scored on a 100-yard return to give the No. 4 Tigers a stunning 34-28 win over No. 1 Alabama, in the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday.It was another improbable ending in a miraculous season for the Tigers, who defeated Georgia two weeks ago on a Hail Mary deflected 73-yard touchdown pass from Nick Marshall to Ricardo Louis with 25 seconds remaining.The win secured the Southeastern Conference Western Division title for Auburn (11-1, 7-1), and continued the Tigers’ incredible turnaround from a 3-9 season in 2012 that included no SEC victories.Auburn will play for the conference crown in Atlanta on Saturday against Missouri.“I’m very proud of our team,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “I think we are playing our best, and we beat a very good football team tonight. Our guys found a way to win.”Davis, a starting cornerback, felt confident that if he had the chance to make a play, he would.“I knew when I caught the ball I would have room to run and I knew we had bigger guys on the field to protect and that was all after that,” he said. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet, but as a team it feels great for all the players.”“They had their field goal team out there and it had some big guys on it,” Malzahn said. “I thought he made a couple of guys who could tackle miss and we made some very good blocks and made an unbelievable play at the end to win it.”Alabama coach Nick Saban said that his team was prepared for the return by Davis.“We knew they had a guy back there and that we had to fan and cover it,” the coach said. “We should have covered it. First time I have ever lost a game that way, first time I have ever seen a game lost that way.”“I just can’t believe it happened,” Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “Nobody ever expected that.”The back-and-forth affair appeared headed for overtime when it looked like Alabama’s T.J. Yeldon ran out of bounds with all zeroes showing on the clock. However, a review put a single tick back on, leading to Griffith’s kick and Davis’ return.“We knew it was going to be a 60-minute game,” Saban said. “We had an opportunity to win the game, we just came up short.”The Crimson Tide (11-1, 7-1) outgained Auburn 495-393 in total yardage, but lost a 14-point second-quarter lead. This was just Alabama’s fourth loss in 77 games in Saban’s tenure that the Crimson Tide lost a game after leading at the half.“The fact of the matter is that we did not make plays when we needed to,” Saban said. “I think you have to give Auburn’s players a lot of credit. They played a great game.”Down 28-21 late in the game, Auburn drove down for a final attempt at a score, and got one on an almost-equally dramatic play. Marshall appeared to run an option play after the snap, only to toss the ball to a wide-open Sammie Coates but only after the Tide defenders bit on the play, coming up to stop him. The sophomore Juco transfer ran in the end zone untouched for a 39-yard touchdown with just 32 seconds remaining on the clock to set up the breathtaking final moments of the game.Alabama opened the fourth with a 33-yard field goal try from Cade Foster that sailed wide left.After a Tiger punt buried Alabama at its 1, the Tide made sure not to waste a scoring chance this time. McCarron heaved the ball down the right sideline, and Amari Cooper caught it and, after Auburn defenders Whitehead and Jonathon Mincy ran into each other, raced for a 99-yard touchdown with 10:28 left in regulation to put the Crimson Tide back ahead 28-21.“You’re disappointed when they score, but you just look your guys in the eye and tell them to find another way to score and get it done,” Malzahn said.Cooper finished with 178 yards on six grabs, while McCarron completed 17 of 29 throws for 277 yards and three touchdowns.On the following possession, the Tigers went for it on fourth down, needing less than 1 yard, but Marshall was spun down by Adrian Hubbard for no gain to give the Tide the ball on the Auburn 35 with 8:28 remaining in the fourth.The Tide turned around and went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Auburn 13, but Carl Lawson stonewalled Yeldon in the hole for no gain to give the ball back to Auburn with 5:34 remaining. Alabama’s defense stood tall, though, forcing minus-9 yards on three plays and a punt.After one first down, the Tiger defense stiffened, and Foster’s 44-yard try was blocked by Robenson Therezie. A 15-yard personal foul penalty on Alabama after the field goal attempt gave Auburn the ball on its 35 with 2:32 left, which left enough time for the game-tying drive.“We keep finding ways to win,” Auburn defensive lineman Dee Ford said. “We just keep fighting.”Yeldon’s 31-yard run on the first play from scrimmage for the Tide sparked a drive that led to a Foster 44-yard field goal attempt that floated outside the goal post to the left.The Tigers took the first lead of the game on a Marshall 45-yard touchdown jaunt on a read-option keeper later in the quarter. Cody Parkey’s kick made it 7-0 with 5:05 to go in the first.The second quarter proved to be much more productive for the Tide.McCarron hit Jalston Fowler off a play-action fake for a 3-yard touchdown toss to tie the game at 7 with 11:00 to go until halftime.On the following drive, Jarrick Williams stripped the ball from the Tigers’ Tre Mason and fell on it at the Auburn 36 to give Alabama excellent field position. Four plays later, McCarron lobbed a pass just over the outstretched hands of Auburn defenders Davis and Jermaine Whitehead to a waiting Kevin Norwood for a 20-yard touchdown to put the Tide up for the first time, 14-7, with 7:12 remaining in the second quarter.After a Tiger three-and-out, Alabama again moved into Auburn territory. The drive’s big play, an end-around to Cooper, went 28 yards to the Auburn 1. On the next play, Yeldon plowed in for another Crimson Tide touchdown to make it 21-7 with 3:48 left in the first half.Auburn’s answer came quickly. The following seven play, 81-yard drive finished just over two minutes after the Alabama touchdown when Mason dove in from 1 yard out to cut it to 21-14 with 1:40 to go in the second quarter.The third quarter opened with the Tigers marching down to even the game. Marshall hit C.J. Uzomah on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 11:56 left in the third to knot it at 21. Neither team threatened again in the third.Mason had 29 carries for 164 yards for Auburn. Marshall completed 11 of 16 throws for 97 yards and rushed 17 times for 99 yards. Davis and Ryan Smith totaled 10 tackles each.Yeldon’s 144 yards on 26 rushes paced Alabama. Mosely had 14 tackles to lead all players.“Stuff happens,” Norwood said. “You have to move on. Life goes on.”

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